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December 19, 2024

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation & Parks (MECP) has finalized an amendment to O. Reg. 406/19:  On-Site & Excess Soil Regulation.

MECP announced they have taken feedback into consideration on proposed amendments described in ERO 019-9196, and is updating the Excess Soil Regulation to change the in-effect date of a provision preventing the landfilling of cleaner soil by two years and to clarify the exemptions to this provision. These changes are intended to provide more time for industry to learn about and prepare for this provision and respond to concerns that current lack of awareness could result in project delays and illegal soil dumping.

More specifically, the following amendments to the Excess Soil Regulation:

• The in-effect date of the restriction on landfilling excess soil that meets Table 2.1 residential, parkland and institutional standards has been changed from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2027.
• The existing exemptions from the landfilling restriction have been revised to make it clear when this cleaner excess soil may still be taken to a landfill. Clarifications have also been made to the type of information a qualified person would need to provide in a declaration to the landfill owner or operator, indicating why the excess soil should be landfilled.

The MECP proposed additional amendments to the Excess Soil Regulation to enable greater reuse of excess soil and avoid it being landfilled, including exempting certain soil management depots from waste approvals, flexibility for reuse of aggregate and stormwater pond sediment, and greater reuse of soil within the project area and between infrastructure projects. MECP received considerable feedback on these aspects of the proposal. As the landfilling restriction would have come into effect January 1, 2025, MECP has proceeded with the decision to change that date and will make a final decision on the remaining proposals following further consideration of the feedback received.

More information on the finalized amendments may be found in the decision notice (ERO 019-9196) posted on the Environmental Registry. Links to the regulation as well as existing guidance to help understand the regulatory requirements can be found on MECP’s Handling Excess Soil website.

MECP has advised that greater outreach and awareness is needed to ensure industry is aware of their regulatory requirements. MECP will continue to collaborate with stakeholders and Indigenous communities on implementation of these amendments and the Excess Soil Regulation in general and will also continue to act on non-compliance to address illegal dumping and ensure our environment is protected.

Any quesitions regarding the amendment or other aspects of the Excess Soil Regulation can be directed to Reema Kyreishy or Sanjay Coelho at:  MECP.LandPolicy@ontario.ca.